The whirlwind that is the Central Coast Section baseball playoffs begin this week, and new section champions will be crowned in two weekends. Right now, we take a look at each CCS playoff bracket.
OPEN (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: Willow Glen, San Benito, Valley Christian, Los Gatos
OVERVIEW: Don't be surprised if this bracket does not go according to seeding. Willow Glen may have earned enough CCS points after sweeping Leland to capture the Mount Hamilton title, but the Rams open with Serra, the regular season champion from the WCAL who lost to Valley Christian in the WCAL tournament title game and is the number two team in our section rankings. Serra, who beat Valley Christian twice during the regular season, has the pitching staff necessary to make another run like last year, when the Padres reached the championship game as a 15 seed.
Mitchell Scott, Nicolas Lopez, Drew Dowd, and Ryan Sutter are all outstanding on the mound, a big requisite for post-season success. Willow Glen also has a bonafide ace in senior Davis Miller, so this one versus eight game could be highly entertaining. The Rams, however, have been lacking a win against a team of this quality, with earlier losses against both San Benito and Mitty, so this will be their shot to prove they belong.
MBL-Gabilan champion San Benito was rewarded with the two seed, despite a non-league win over Willow Glen. The Balers, who will be able to trot out Cal Poly commit Ryan Jameson to the mound, also went 3-1 in the Boras Classic North earlier this season. San Benito opens against Santa Cruz, who dominated the SCCAL, despite being maybe a year away from reaching its peak potential. Juniors Javi Felix, Glenallen Hill, Jr., and Clayton Ray have the Cardinals excited about now and the future, while senior Ricky Parra is a steady leader on the mound. And remember, Santa Cruz showed its post-season moxie last year, when the Cardinals eliminated Bellarmine before falling 1-0 to Valley Christian.
The top team in our rankings, Valley Christian, is the three seed, but seeding matters little to the Warriors, who won the Open Division last year after entering as a 13 seed. This year, they open against six seed Sacred Heart Prep, in what could be another tantalizing pitching match-up. Valley Christian can send dominant left-hander Patrick Wicklander, an Arkansas commit, to the mound, while the Gators are likely to counter with Georgetown-bound Angelo Tonas. Senior Kevin Pence comprises the other half of Valley Christian's strong one-two punch on the mound, and the Warriors have plenty of young bullpen depth, headlined by junior William Kempner, sophomore Eddie Park, and freshman Jonathan Cymrot.
The four-five game might be the one which has left the most people scratching their heads. Palo Alto beat Los Gatos by two games for the SCVAL-De Anza regular season title, and then the Vikings beat the Wildcats head-to-head for the tournament title as well. Despite that overwhelming evidence, the point totals handed Los Gatos the four seed, while Palo Alto is the five seed, meaning that Los Gatos will get to play the role of the home team in Friday's quarterfinal match-up.
Palo Alto features one of the top senior middle infield combos in Northern California, with shortstop Max Jung-Goldberg and second baseman Niko Lillios, though Lillios is also one of the key arms for the Vikings. Spencer Rojahn and sophomore Dean Casey also figure to play key roles on the mound.
Los Gatos infielder Tommy Troy is one of the top sophomores in the section, and the Wildcats also have a strong combination of starting pitchers, with seniors Tyler Williams and Luke Short.
SLEEPER: Considering their slot in our rankings, Serra should not surprise anyone with a run to the title game and possibly a fourth game with Valley Christian. But the Padres fit the bill as a sleeper according to the seedings. The problem here is that this was competitive, wide-open when it was 16 teams. Now, with only eight teams, there are no real sleepers.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: Valley Christian
DIVISION I (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: Bellarmine, Piedmont Hills, Mountain View, Leland
OVERVIEW: Top seed Bellarmine is the only team in this field with 20 wins or more, and the Bells are clearly the class of this group after winning the Boras Classic this year, one of the state's elite tournaments. They also have the top two arms in the group, with starting pitchers Wes Harper and Joe Ammirato, not to mention Michael Mitchell and Josh Mollerus as arms to provide quality depth. That being said, there is plenty of talent throughout the bracket, and the race to reach the title game appears wide open on the other half of the seeding.
BVAL-Santa Teresa champion Piedmont Hills is the two seed, with senior Josh Beck headlining the pitching staff. The Pirates, however, will see plenty of competition along the road, especially with a trio of De Anza teams in their way, with three seed Mountain View, seven seed Wilcox, and 11 seed Los Altos.
Mountain View has a pair of solid starting arms, with senior Jared Norris and sophomore James Hoyt, while sophomore infielder Tristan Silveira is a threat at the plate and on the bases. MBL-Pacific champion Alisal holds the six seed, but could have a tough opener against a Los Altos team which features staff ace Alex Reelfs.
Four seed Leland and five seed Carlmont could match up in an entertaining quarterfinal, if they both win their first round games, with Leland's Albert Hsiao and Carlmont's Jordan Brandenburg going head-to-head in a battle of two of the top catchers in the section.
SLEEPER: While Carlmont has the firepower to make a run, two of the SCVAL-De Anza teams seeded in the middle of the field are intriguing as well. Homestead and Wilcox are both battle-tested, and Wilcox is in a good position to make a run from the half of the bracket opposite Bellarmine. Look out for the Chargers.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: Bellarmine
DIVISION II (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: Soledad, Saint Francis, Archbishop Mitty, Gilroy
OVERVIEW: MTAL champion Soledad may have grabbed the top seed, but all eyes will be on who emerges from the other half of the bracket, where WCAL heavyweights Saint Francis and Mitty were placed together as the two and three seeds. The Lancers and Monarchs split their regular season meetings.
The first round features a battle of the Mustangs in the four versus 13 game, where King City heads to Gilroy. Gilroy had a big win earlier this season over San Benito, and finished the regular season with three straight wins, and swept the season series from 12 seed Christopher.
After finishing a game behind Sacred Heart Prep for the PAL-Bay title, five seed Hillsdale has shown it has plenty of pop at the plate, hitting .327 with 58 extra-base hits as a team this season. With junior Thomas Karpishin emerging as a staff ace, and pitching depth which includes senior Jaxon Skidmore and junior Jason Alba, the Fighting Knights could be a threat.
SLEEPER: Hillsdale is battle tested, as the Fighting Knights have notched wins this season over St. Ignatius and Riordan, and split the season series with Sacred Heart Prep. Possibly better for the lineup could be the fact that Saint Francis and Mitty will need to throw everything they have against each other in a possible semifinal match-up. That could leave the Fighting Knights in a good spot if they can get past Christopher in the first round, plus higher seed Gilroy and top seed Soledad.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: Saint Francis
DIVISION III (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: St. Francis-Watsonville, The King's Academy, Thomas More, Palma
OVERVIEW: Two seed King's Academy and three seed Thomas More are both league champions, but a potential semifinal game between St. Francis and Palma could be the premier match-up. St. Francis emerged from the SCCAL, where the Sharks faced Santa Cruz and Aptos during league play, while Palma played a rugged schedule all season, and won two of three games against both Gilroy and Christopher, while nearly winning the season series against San Benito.
Junior quarterback Grant Sergent is Palma's staff ace, and he will not be fazed by the moment, while multi-sport standout Dominic Scattini is the top threat at the plate for the Chieftains. St. Francis, meanwhile, has one of the top all-around players in the field, senior Chase Watkins. If Watkins and Sergent face each other in the semifinals, it could be a special day for everyone in attendance.
TKA dominated the PAL-Ocean this season, and also played well against tough non-league competition, holding its own in a tight loss to Mitty and routing Division I two seed Piedmont Hills.
SLEEPER: If we have to look outside the top four, six seed Carmel faced top competition all season, and the Padres could be a threat if they play their best ball. We would not be surprised to see them win their opener.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: Palma
